TV, radio shows aim to focus youth on civic participation

TV, radio shows aim to focus youth on civic participation

Cambodia TV channel CTN looked to the nation’s youth yesterday with the launch of the Loy9 show. Produced by BBC Media Action, the show is aimed at raising the awareness of 15-to-24-year olds for participating in civic life.

Loy9, or 9 Cool Things, includes drama and discussion segments, radio call-in programs, public service announcements alongside online and mobile phone messaging.

According to Charles Hamilton, the country director of BBC Media Action (formerly the BBC World Service Trust), the BBC has worked for almost 10 years in the Kingdom’s media and health sector, with a particular focus on working with young people, creating positive civic engagement through the use of the media.

After conducting research in 2010, BBC Media Action has put Loy9 into production as part of a three-year, US$2.5-million project funded by the United Nations Development Program.

At the launch of Loy9 on Wednesday morning at Phnom Penh Tower on Moniving Boulevard, Hamilton said about 30 per cent of Cambodians are aged 15 to 30, meaning Cambodia has the youngest population in ASEAN, and they are the focus of the show.

“We aim to target at least five million youths including three million of voting age to provide knowledge, attitudes and skills by presenting positive examples of youth participation in governance as a way of building more resilient communities,” he said.

“Only 8 per cent of Cambodian youth have voiced their opinions to the public so we hope the impacts on five million youths will provide positive changes for Cambodian youth to participate in civic activities,” Hamilton added.

Colin Spurway, the project director of BBC Media
Action said that the 45-minute-TV show will feature inspirational young people from all over the country who are already making a difference in their communities.

“We’ve five young new presenters, celebrity guests Meas Soksophea, DJ Klaing, and boy band Utopia for our first edition,” he said.

“We also have the first episode of a drama series that features a young woman who develops an interest in filmmaking when her former schoolmate returns to their village for a film competition,” he added.

“The young woman finds a way with her friend to express ideas about the village and how young villagers will deal with the unexpected obstacles in their path,” he continued.

The show will also feature online and print access and even live games. It is an opportunity for young people to provide ideas, enter competitions and even appear on TV and radio.

Loy9 will provide young people with the vital facts they need in order to participate in civil society, and to reassure their families that getting involved in their community is a positive, not a dangerous, thing to do.

Loy9 will broadcast on CTN every Sunday at 8:00pm and will be repeated on MyTV on Tuesdays at 4:30pm.

The Loy9 Radio Phone-In was set to launch today on FM 103 MHz from 12pm to 1pm and will be relayed to 12 provincial partner stations.

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